Live longer. Extend your life. Beat ageing. Outsmart death.

The immortal jellyfish found its way into my Uncommon Animals of the Alphabet project because it sounded less like a real animal and more like something from a 1950s science fiction movie. It is a tiny jellyfish with the remarkable ability to reverse its life cycle and start again. Nature is full of strange ideas, but this one feels particularly bizarre.

Most people are fascinated by the immortal part. We seem obsessed with finding ways to live longer. Entire industries are built around it. Billionaires are pouring fortunes into it. The message is always the same. Live longer. Extend your life. Beat ageing. Outsmart death. Maybe that is worthwhile. Maybe it is not. What interests me more is a different question. What is the point of a long life if you are too sick, tired or broken to enjoy it?

What are the most important things needed to live a good life?

The immortal jellyfish kept pulling me back to that thought. We spend so much time talking about lifespan that we rarely stop to talk about health span. One is about how long you are alive. The other is about how long you are actually living.

That distinction matters to me because I do not dream of reaching one hundred. I dream of still being able to make art, walk paddocks, plant trees, feed animals and chase ideas when I am old. I want enough healthy years to pursue the things that give my life meaning.

The reason I think health is one of the foundations of a good life is because it supports everything else. Purpose becomes harder without it. Relationships become harder without it. Creativity becomes harder without it. Even simple pleasures start slipping away.

Purpose matters just as much. Every billionaire with a microphone seems determined to convince us that wealth is the answer. Maybe they are right. Maybe they are not. At this point I am not entirely convinced anybody knows what they are talking about.

Money certainly helps. It can buy time, reduce stress and give you options. Those things matter. But money is not purpose. Purpose is having a reason to get out of bed that is bigger than accumulating more money.

The challenge is that purpose takes time to discover. Health without time is frustrating. Time without health is frustrating. Purpose without either becomes difficult. Everything seems connected.

Artists probably struggle with this balancing act more than most. We have inherited a story that says suffering is part of the job description. That being broke proves you are serious. That exhaustion is evidence of commitment. The starving artist myth has been repeated for so long that many creative people accept it as reality.

To thrive creatively you cannot just nurture your creativity. You have to nurture the entire ecosystem around it. Your body, your relationships, your finances, your curiosity and your sense of meaning all matter. Ignore any one of them for too long and eventually the creative work suffers as well.

That sounds suspiciously like self help nonsense and I hate how true it is. I would much rather tell you that all problems can be solved by making more art. Sometimes they can. Most of the time they cannot.

Sometimes the most creative thing you can do is get more sleep, go for a walk, eat better food, pay off a debt or spend an afternoon in the garden.

The immortal jellyfish reminds me that living longer and living better are not the same thing. If I am lucky enough to have both, great. But if I have to choose, I know which one I am picking.

A good life seems less about maximising any one thing and more about keeping the important things in balance. Health. Time. Purpose. Enough money to remove unnecessary stress. People you love. Something worth contributing to.

Get those things working together and you are probably wealthier than most people realise.